Fighting the Goliath
by leviathan and me
Summary: My version of Goliath. On the way to Japan, the Leviathan runs into a lightnign storm. With a dangerous hydrogen leak, can they make it through unscathed? What does this mean for Deryn and Alek. Contains POV of anyone I can think of. Bad summery really.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own NOTHING! :(**

Chapter 1

Alek stood, staring out at the land far below. He tried to image just how far he had come, from Austria to here. Japan was to their east, and the Captain said it was only a few days away.

Alek had always known about the world. It had been part of his heritage to learn about it. But he suddenly realised just how little he actually understood. He knew about the people and the places, but now, sitting here on the Leviathan, everything he had ever learnt seemed insignificant.

The sound of breathing beside him brought him out of his thoughts. Dylan stood there, looking entirely at home.

"Barking spiders, it's cold" Dylan muttered, pulling his regulation airman's jacket closer. Alek nodded, realising that he had been so caught up in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed how dark and cold it was getting. He stood up.

"Yeah, let's get inside. It looks like there might be a storm."

"Aye, I don't like the look of those clouds."

Together, they turned and headed back to the indoors.

* * *

Dr Barlow sat in her quarters, studying some maps. If all went well, they would arrive in Japan just in time to continue her plan on schedule. She sighed, pushing the maps away. It was impossible to concentrate with everything that was going on.

From the corner of the room came an odd, crackling sound. Dr Barlow turned to see her loris perched on the windowsill, staring at the approaching storm clouds. The loris made the sound again, and it was then that Dr Barlow recognised it, it was the sound lightening made when it struck. And sure enough, she could see a flicker of light in the clouds. She felt her throat tighten. An airship filled with hydrogen, heading straight for the lightening.

Dr Barlow made a decision, stood up and headed for the bridge.

* * *

The Captain stood next to the viewport, gazing at the sky ahead of them, and continually issuing orders to his men. Dr Barlow walked in when he was ordering all the hydrogen sniffers to the dorsal area. She could feel the airbeast shifting, trying to get away from the storm.

"I see you've noticed the lightening, my dear Captain."

"What do you want, Doctor? Can't you see that I'm busy?"

"I just came to advise you to change course. Just entering the lightening field is dangerous. The storm isn't travelling very quickly, if we changed turned around now, we might just outrun it" Dr Barlow stated as calmly as she could.

"I know what you are thinking Doctor, but it would just delay us. The storm would catch us eventually; it would just be easier to get through it now, rather than halfway back to England. Now if you don't mind, I believe we shall need all our mechanics to the engines, so I must issue the order..."

"If you don't mind Captain, I was on my way to see Mr Sharp, whom I believe is with Alek. I can tell him for you, so the message lizard could be put to better use." With that, she turned and left

* * *

Alek caught the ball in one hand, took a few steps back, and threw it as hard as he could down the corridor. Dylan ran as hard as he could after it, jumped, and caught it in mid-air. Bovril, perched on the windowsill, clapped as hard as his little paws would let him.

Alek had suggested the game to distract Dylan from the lightening. He knew it scared him, and every time there was the slightest flash visible through the porthole he flinched, as if expecting to catch fire every time. But playing a game was better than sitting and hoping for it to go away.

Dylan threw the ball half-heartedly back to Alek, but the ball hit the floor halfway between them, bouncing back up only to be caught by Tazza.

"Finally" came Dr Barlow's cry from around the corner. "Alek, the Captain is sending all the mechanics their engines, so you better head off. Mr Sharp, you had better go help with the hydrogen sniffers. The Captain refused to turn around, so I believe he wants to make sure there are no leaks when we go through the storm."

Alek and Dylan both nodded, and headed off in separate directions.

* * *

The engines thrummed as Alek stepped into the pods. Mr Hirst was standing over the controls, with Master Klopp watching over his shoulder. Alek and his men had been teaching some of the Darwinist mechanics how to control the engines, but Klopp still didn't trust Mr Hirst at his precious engines.

"Ah, Alek, finally. Please, take the engines before this man ruins it and ends us all." Klopp grumbled. Alek nodded and shivered, he was already cold and had been out there for only 5 minutes. He took the saunter, keeping it level to where Mr Hirst had left it. They were almost at the clouds now, and Alek could see the rain coming down.  
A flash of lightening made him jump. He suddenly realised just why Dylan was so afraid of it. In an airbeast full of hydrogen, every flash was too close. He shivered, this time not from the cold.

They were now entering the storm. The makeshift covers that had been rigged up over the engines did their best, but the wind and the rain quickly overpowered them. Most of the electrikals had been covered more securely, but Alek was a bit worried about the sparks flying out of the engines. He was no mechanik, but he knew that it wasn't good.

Thunder and lightning overtook Alek's senses. He was blinded by the huge flashing light, and deafened by the deep grumbling that followed. His face was numb from the wind, and he almost didn't know what he was doing.

And then, through the racket, he heard the sound that they had all been dreading. The bark of a hydrogen sniffer. They had sprung a leak.


	2. Chapter 2

Deryn cursed loudly when she heard the hydrogen sniffer. All her nightmares were coming true. People paused for a moment in shock, before running to try to patch up the hole. But she knew it was no use. The wind would just make it wider, and it was only a matter of time before there was more lightning. They were all going to burn, and they all knew it.

It seemed that the Captain had come to the same conclusion, as the Leviathan seemed to be heading towards the ground and a klaxon sounded, spurring all crew members into action. He obviously wanted to get as close to the ground as possible, so that anyone surviving the blast had the best chance of escape.

Deryn knew that there was nothing she could do, and she knew exactly where she wanted to be. Letting go of the hydrogen sniffer, she ran as hard as she could back to Alek's cabin.

/

No one had taken any notice of her as she ran down the corridors. Urgent shouts and orders echoed around, but none of them aimed at her. Pushing the door to Alek's room open, she found Bovril clawing at the window, trying to get out. It was imitating the crackling of a fire. It wasn't very comforting.

Scooping the poor beastie up in her arms, she ran out of the room, and almost collided with Dr Barlow. The woman looked distressed, her bowler hat askew on flyaway hair. Her face was pale and the loris in her arms was screeching horribly.

"Mr Sharp, shouldn't you be helping your crew members?"

"You know as well as I do ma'am, that there is no way to save the poor beastie. And don't bother calling me Mr Sharp. You are perfectly aware of who and what I am." Deryn shouted over the noise. There was a crash, and Bovril suddenly chose to join the other loris in screeching at the top of its little lungs, which was, surprisingly, very loud indeed.

"Very well Miss Sharp. Where, may I ask, are you going?" Deryn rolled her eyes. Even in a crisis the boffin wasted her time being all proper. Even Alek was better than her at these things.

"I was going to the engine pods ma'am. Seeing as our Clanker friends don't know standard procedure, I thought I might give them a hand." With that, Deryn turned on her heal and stalked off as fast as she could. After a moment's pause, she heard Dr Barlow's shoes clomping as she hurried to catch up. Deryn rolled her eyes but continued. Let the boffin follow, she must know what she is getting into.

/

The noise in the engine pods was tremendous. The klaxon was even louder here, and there was nothing to quieten the noise of the storm. Deryn and Dr Barlow arrived to find that Mr Hirst had left, and that Could Volger had found his way from the other pod. Everyone seemed to have given up hope. Except for Alek. He still gripped the saunter for all he was worth, his face grim and set.

Volger looked up when they entered. His face was pale, and for the first time, Deryn saw what he looked like when he was scared. There was another flash and the airbeast shuddered.

The airbeast is venting off hydrogen to lower itself, Deryn thought to herself. Then, we're going to blow any moment now. She took a deep breath to steady herself, and walked over to Alek.

There was a flash, and then a great whooshing sound as the hydrogen breather caught fire.


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry, it has been a while, but I hope this lives up to expectations. It took a little while to write**

Alek groaned and opened his eyes slowly. His head spun in memory of the terrifying plummet to the ground. At first, all he could remember was the immense heat and light from the burning airbeast, and the fall.

He took a deep breath, and gasped as a sudden pain shot through his side. Shifting, he saw the wreckage of the engine pod, and it all came back to him.

_There was a flash, and then a great whooshing sound as the hydrogen breather caught fire. Alek felt the heat of the blast on his exposed face, and turned to shield himself. Bovril was screaming on Dylan's shoulder, as was Dr Barlow's loris. Everyone ran to the end of the pod, trying to get away from the flames. Dr Barlow stumbled, and Volger caught her, and didn't let go. _

_A groaning could be heard, and then a great snap as the engine pod broke free and fell to the earth. Alek was thrown off his feet and into the edge of the pod. Pain shot through him as he bounced off. His head then slammed into one of the control panels and he blacked out._

A moaning could be heard from the other end of the broken pod. The person then coughed, and Alek tried to sit up and see who it was. His side protested, and he was sure he had broken something. But at least he was alive.

"Barking spiders, that was awful!"

Alek was relieved to hear his friends' voice. "Dylan, are you alright?" he called, and winced when his voice came out little more than a whisper.

"Alek, is that you?" Dylan's worried face came into view. "I'm fine, but..." his voice trailed off as he looked at Alek. "Oh my God, you look barking awful. Can you sit up?"

"I don't think so, it hurts too much."

"OK, I'll help you." With that, Dylan carefully wrapped an arm around Alek's shoulders, and lifted him so his back rested against the wall of the pod. "Has anyone else come past?"

"Not that I've been awake to witness"

"Right, I'm going to see if I can find anyone else. You stay here."

"Does it look like I'm going anywhere?" Alek smiled in a desperate attempt to lighten the mood. It was still raining slightly, and he could see smoke rising over the edge of the pod. They were going to need something to smile about, because it certainly didn't look to good now.

"Alright, I won't go far." Dylan stood and left. Not for the first time, Alek watched him go with fascination. There was something about the way that Dylan walked that Alek found interesting.

As he sat there and waited for Dylan to return, he looked at his injuries. Looking down, he saw that his right side seemed to cave in a little bit, and there was a fair amount of blood around his right hip. Using his good arm, he placed his palm against the wound. It came away wet.

"Alek, Alek! I found Bovril!" Dylan's voice came loudly, interrupting his thoughts. He reappeared in front of Alek, Bovril on his shoulder. Alek realised then that both Dylan and Bovril had escaped the crash relatively unscathed. Aside from a large bruise on Dylan's head, neither of them looked hurt.

"Can you see anyone else?"

"I could see more people over there," he pointed "but that was it. I can't even see the Leviathan. It- it must have completely burnt up." Dylan looked quite upset. Alek suddenly realised that he had a rather feminine face. And when you combined that with the way he stood and walked... Alek pushed these thoughts away. It couldn't be possible.

"Alek, are you alright?"

Alek snapped out of his thoughts. "Yeah, as good as can be expected." He sighed, wincing as he did so. "Maybe you should see who the people were over there are. See if they are alright."

Dylan nodded. "Aye, but only if you're sure that you're fine. I'll be back in a squick." He left, once again leaving Alek with his thoughts.

/

Deryn was very worried about Alek. When she had first seen him, she was so shocked by what she saw she thought she might cry. He was so pale he could have been dead. And he was covered in blood. She hadn't wanted to check his wounds, but it looked like he had broken a few ribs and there was a nasty cut on his hip. She wondered if he would be able to move any time soon. She didn't fancy staying here too long.

She was nearing the people she had seen earlier. The dark storm clouds over head made it difficult to see much, and Deryn didn't know if they were alive or not, but it was worth checking out. From a distance, it looked as if one of them was lying in a pool of blood. She really hoped it wasn't so. As she got closer, she heard one of them moan. Quickening her pace, she practically ran to them.

Relief flooded through her. The person, who she had thought was lying in blood, was in fact, Dr Barlow, her dark skirts spread around her. And next to her, holding her hand was the still form of Count Volger. A quick check revealed that they were both alive, with nothing but a few scratches and bruises on them. And no wonder, they were on top of one of the Leviathan's safety floats. Taking a deep breath, she turned to look at the third person

In front of Deryn lay the groaning Mr Newkirk. Crouching, she checked him over, and other than a cut on his head and a light burn on his arm, he seemed fine. Not entirely sure what she should do, Deryn gently shook Newkirk, hoping to wake him up.

It worked, and after a few seconds, Newkirk opened his eyes, looked up a Deryn and closed them again.

"Barking spiders, you would be the person to wake me up, wouldn't you Mister Sharp?"

"I just thought that you had been napping long enough Mr Newkirk, and that you may as well tell me how you survived this mess."

"Fair enough, but give me a minute first. It's a bit of a long story." He sat up and took in Dr Barlow, Volger and Klopp. "Is this everyone then?"

"Everyone I could find, plus Alek." She paused and thought for a bit. "Help us wake the others then, I need to get Dr Barlow to Alek, he's hurt quite bad."

A few minutes later, Deryn and Newkirk had managed to wake the other two, and were heading back to the battered engine pod where Alek was. He had fallen asleep by the time they got there, and Deryn could understand why. Dr Barlow had a quick look over him while he was asleep, and bandaged up his ribs as best as she could. According to her Alek had broken at least three, if not four ribs.

She had then proceeded to inspect the gash on his hip. It turned out that a sharp piece of metal was imbedded in there, and Dr Barlow couldn't get it out without first cleaning the wound.

There was currently nothing else to do, and Volger suggested that they follow Alek's example and get some sleep. Deryn had noticed that he had barely left Dr Barlow's side, and even now was sticking to her like glue. Newkirk was eying them as well, almost like he had never seen a couple before. Deryn rolled her eyes as she settled down in the pod. Newkirk was so barking weird.

But as she grew tired, her thoughts turned to the fire. She shuddered as she thought of how close they had been to burning like the others. Tears came to her eyes at the thought never seeing the others again, Mr Rigby, the Captain, and all the creatures, all gone forever. Sobbing gently, she slowly went to sleep.

**So there you have it. Reviews are greatly appreciated!**


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